Iowa native Peggy Whitson is now the record holder for American astronauts time in space. Whitson received a congratulatory phone call from President Trump yesterday. She was named the International Space Station's commander earlier this month. During her three missions, Whitson has spent a total of 535 days in orbit. The prior American record-holder was Jeff Williams at 534 days. The all time space-duration record is held by a Russian cosmonaut who spent 879 days in space over five missions.